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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26925232">Ruin and Rubble and Red Tape</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/idyllSunset/pseuds/idyllSunset'>idyllSunset</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(probably), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Family Dynamics, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Instability, Paranoia, Paranoid Wilbur Soot, Politics, Post-Manberg Festival, Realistic Minecraft, Swords, Temporary Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:01:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26925232</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/idyllSunset/pseuds/idyllSunset</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It takes a massacre on a day of peace for Dream to see that Wilbur's gone too far.</p><p>He sees the president corrupted by greed, and the rebel consumed by paranoia, and he knows in his heart that he has to be the one to put a stop to both.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream &amp; Toby Smith | Tubbo, Clay | Dream &amp; Wilbur Soot, Dave | Technoblade &amp; Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>564</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ruin and Rubble and Red Tape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>First fic of the fandom let's GOOOOOOOO</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dream is not a complicated man.</p><p>He likes to win, as most people do, but he’s not afraid to learn from his mistakes. He’s constantly improving; even his anxiety is funneled into self-improvement through sheer willpower. He has quite a bit of skill and power and influence, too.</p><p>Even so, he’s not quite sure how things got so messy under his watch.</p><p>He surveys L’Manberg where it lays scorched and razed. It’s completely destroyed.</p><p>A year ago, he would’ve loved to see this. One year ago, he was convinced that the destruction of the insurgency would bring peace. He’d thought that if he crushed the rebellion, they’d stop playing pretend, come back and get along with the rest of the server. If they’d really wanted their own SMP, they could’ve left the actual server and started their own instead of staking out part of his and claiming independence. Dream (at the time) thought it was absolutely idiotic. As pointless as a child pointing to their treehouse and claiming that they own part of their parent’s property. He tried to deal with it the same way he would’ve dealt with that child; by setting the record straight and sticking to it. But it just caused so much bloodshed and chaos, and in the end, he realized that there’s a certain point where temporarily killing children stops being fun. An opportunity landed in his lap at the perfect time. A symbolic gesture was the perfect out to end the squabble and offer pointless independence in return for being left alone.</p><p>He’s still not sure why Wilbur, handed victory by his right-hand man, decided to do a heel turn and swap to democracy. Nevertheless, it was clearly the start of a downfall.</p><p>Schlatt walks up beside him. “Mister Dream, my good man. I sure hope you didn’t get caught up in all this fire and brimstone and whatnot.”</p><p>“I’m fine,” Dream says.</p><p>“Manberg has seen better days, eh? I figure it’s all the same. It’s not like we were going to keep half this shit anyway,” Schlatt chuckles. Eventually, it peters out into a sigh. “Shame about the beds, though. Sort of sucks for anyone who has to respawn the ol’ fashioned way because their beds were in the rubble. They’ll all be back in a few hours, I’m sure.”</p><p>“What’s the death toll?” Dream rasps.</p><p>“Oh, I wouldn’t know,” Schlatt shrugs.</p><p>“Who did you lose?”</p><p>“Just Quackity. Dunno how Tubbo got out alive, ‘cause an explosion went off right below his podium. I swear to god, he got launched into the stratosphere.”</p><p>“Is he okay?”</p><p>Schlatt scoffs. “Of course he is. He’s a kid! Kids bounce back quick. I told him to chug some health pots and buck up. His broken legs got fixed right up. I’m sure he’ll be back to work tomorrow. Hell of a builder, that one.”</p><p>Dream’s tired of this boasting. This workplace atmosphere. This detached persona. “I’m going to say this once, Schlatt. Only once.”</p><p>Schlatt blinks at him.</p><p>“It would be in your best interest to leave this place. Just go and start over somewhere fresh.”</p><p>“You mean off the server?” Schlatt asks.</p><p>“If you want, but that’s not what I meant. I mean away from here. If you want me to be specific, a few thousand chunks away,” Dream says, trying to keep the venom from his voice. “Staying here isn’t a good call.”</p><p>“That far? Oh, but Dream, that kind of transit time would be hell on the trade deals.”</p><p>“I’ll be seeing you,” Dream says shortly, and he walks away.</p><p>He walks forward, avoiding the scorched grass and walking along the areas that are mostly intact. Wilbur’s TNT did a hell of a lot of damage. It looks like more than Dream thought it would be when he gave it to Wilbur. He thought Wilbur would do as Dream had done and only blow up the landmarks. Instead, the landscape itself is scarred just as much as the buildings are.</p><p>The wind carries the scent of smoke and ash and burnt skin. After a moment of hesitation, he opens his chat and checks the death messages. </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>Skeppy was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> ItsFundy was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> awesamdude was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Callahan was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Nihachu was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Quackity was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Thunder1408 was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> NinjaSimpsDream was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> ItsAlyssa was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Punz was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> KarlJacobs was blown up by WilburSoot </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>Dream had been lucky to not be caught by shrapnel, because he, like everyone else, had taken off his armor in honor of the festival. (His armor sits in his inventory. He still can’t bring himself to put it on in L’Manberg territory.)</p><p>Maybe Wilbur did have a point when he declared himself the villain, because this does look bad. The festival was supposed to be a morale boost. He’s tempted to consider the ways in which Manberg could be its own entity, and one that is only seen as evil because he was too attached to the previous administration. But Dream squints and looks closer and sees the cracks in that logic. Manberg is not a shiny place that’s improved. It’s not nostalgia that makes L’Manberg seem better, it’s pure facts. Jschlatt has punished dissenters with extreme taxes, and he’s threatened and bullied his staff, and he’s set himself up to be the emperor instead of the president.</p><p>Dream tries to keep this in mind. Pity and hate vie for attention, but he has to use his logic and choose hate. He can’t let soothing words and business-speak blind him to the fact that Jschlatt has always been a power-hungry narcissist.</p><p>He’s so deep in his thoughts that he startles when someone hurries across his path from out of nowhere. The person is a flash of red, and for a second Dream thinks Tommy before his brain catches up with the royal jacket and he says, “Eret?”</p><p>The king in question jumps, whirling around and reaching for the sword at his side. With a sigh, he relaxes. “Dream. Good to see you.”</p><p>“Likewise,” Dream says, for lack of anything else to say.</p><p>“Would you mind walking with me?” Eret says, pointing to where he’d been heading. “I was just…"</p><p>“No, of course,” Dream nods, walking to Eret’s side. They set off, weaving through the blast sights. “What are you doing?”</p><p>“Applying first aid to buildings,” Eret says. “Not sure what else to call it, to be honest. I’ve got an inventory full’a scaffolding that I’m gonna use to replace broken supports. I just don’t want to see things start collapsing.”</p><p>Dream hums in agreement.</p><p>“Things are… Dream, I know this is a mess you don’t want to get into. But this needs to be sorted.”</p><p>“What do you want me to do?”</p><p>Eret pauses and glances around. “It needs to be Tommy. Tommy needs to be the one to kick Schlatt out. It can’t be Wilbur— it just can’t.”</p><p>“He’s a kid,” Dream says.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter. He’d put things right,” Eret says. “And— and so what if he’s a kid? He’s old enough to have come here on his own, pick fights with you, start wars, and end them too. This government’s a fucking joke, and at least Tommy has the sense to see that governments are fucking awful. He would see that he’s a figurehead, and even then, he would have adults to be his advisors.”</p><p>“Adults,” Dream repeats. <em> “Right. </em> Because he <em> loves </em> being told what to do.”</p><p>“He listens when it’s valid.”</p><p>
  <em> “When?” </em>
</p><p>“To—” Eret’s steps slow to a stop. He sighs. “I guess you’re right. To Wilbur.”</p><p>“That isn’t an option, now,” Dream says.</p><p>“I know,” Eret says. “But it can’t be anyone else. Maybe— maybe Niki, but she… she’s not a founder. I’m not sure if it’s right. If things had been different, and people voted her and Fundy, maybe, but for her to take over now…”</p><p>Dream nods. “I agree.”</p><p>“What does that mean?” Eret asks flatly.</p><p><em> What </em> <b> <em>does</em> </b> <em> it mean? </em>He was trying to play this from the shadows so that his interference wouldn’t be so outwardly obvious, but Tommy already roped him into actual skirmishes. Unrelated skirmishes, yes, but by allying himself with Tommy, he’s made it public that he’s on better terms with Tommy than he is with Schlatt. Maybe the time for puppeteering has passed, or maybe it never existed, and he was just being a coward. He has to admit that he’s invested in this. “I need to step in. I’ve never liked Schlatt, but I think I need to stop thinking in negatives. It’s not just that I don’t support him. It’s that I do support Tommy.”</p><p>“Tommy, not Pogtopia?”</p><p>He nods. “Tommy. Not Pogtopia.”</p><p>“You’d fight the other two?”</p><p>“Those three are brothers, but they’re not a hive mind,” Dream says. “Tommy won’t be okay with this.”</p><p>“That’s not what I was worried about,” Eret says. “What will you do if you end up fighting Technoblade?”</p><p>Dream can read between the lines and hear the real question. <em> Do you think you can win that fight? </em> “If it comes to that, then so be it.”</p><p>Eret nods carefully. “I know you’re stacked, but if you need resources or an extra fighter…”</p><p>“Thank you,” Dream says. And he means it.</p><p>Eret pats his shoulder as he leaves.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Dream waits at spawn for people to come back.</p><p>Jack. Alyssa. Callahan. Karl. Punz. Skeppy. Sam.</p><p>Wilbur must've tried his best to destroy as many beds as he could if he made all of these people respawn at spawn itself. All of them appear in various levels of disarray, but Dream keeps his distance. Most people hate respawning without a bed. It takes longer, and it’s more disorienting, and the phantom pain lasts longer. So he looks the other way to give them some semblance of privacy while he bides his time.</p><p>Eventually, the woman he was looking for appears.</p><p>She respawns, pressing a hand to her collarbone and screaming. It’s not five seconds before she’s in a ball on the ground, wrapping her arms around herself. Dream can’t even say she’s being dramatic, because he’s died from explosions before and it’s an awful experience. Most of the others before her fared just about as poorly as her, if not worse. Actually, she picks herself up only a couple minutes later, and Dream takes that as a cue to make himself known.</p><p>“Hey, Niki,” Dream says.</p><p>Niki startles and her hand goes to her belt, but comes up empty. She shuffles up straighter, though, and sets her face firmly. “Hello.”</p><p>“You know what happened?”</p><p>She looks very unhappy about having this conversation.</p><p>“You know it was Wilbur who set the bombs. You know he’s gotta be out of his mind to pull that when it could have killed anyone— hell, it <em> did </em> kill you. He needs to be stopped,” Dream says. He knows that it’s the truth as he says it. He should have known it before he fueled the fire, but he knows it now, and he’s a strong believer that late is better than never. “I want to know how you think I should go about it.”</p><p>“You want my opinion?” Niki scoffs.</p><p>“Please,” he says.</p><p>Maybe she notices how genuinely he meant that, because her face falls and she presses a hand against her mouth. “You know, Wilbur means a lot to me. He’s one of my best friends.”</p><p>“I know. That’s why I’m asking,” Dream says.</p><p>“I don’t know what happened. We were so close to turning the tide.”</p><p>Dream stays quiet.</p><p>“... Do you know if someone else gave him the idea?”</p><p>“It was his plan,” Dream says. “He was paranoid that he’d be betrayed by everyone, and he wanted to make the first move before he got backstabbed. Tommy was the only one who knew, and he barely said enough for me to guess what was coming.”</p><p>“Nobody told me,” she whispers.</p><p>They lapse into silence, standing in the woods.</p><p>After a minute, Niki shakes her head. “This is crazy.”</p><p>“Niki. We're well past that.”</p><p>“I— I know,” she says, biting her lip. “Okay. You want my advice? Take Schlatt out first. If you let them fight each other, it’ll tear everything down. But if Schlatt was gone, and there was nothing to fight over, maybe you could sort something out.”</p><p>Dream gets the feeling that she’s not in much shape to say anything more. “Thank you, Niki. I’ll let you head home.”</p><p>“Thanks,” she says emotionlessly as she turns to walk away. Dream watches her disappear amongst the trees before he even considers moving himself.</p><p>Fuck. This needs to be sorted <em> now. </em></p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Dream calls a massive number of people to the community house that night. His list starts with Eret, Hbomb and Punz, but he decides <em> ‘the more, the more intimidating’ </em> and calls up Bad, Skeppy, Sapnap, and Karl.</p><p>“I’m going to end this,” Dream says. “If you want your name on the list of people who took Schlatt out of power, I recommend you put on your armor and come with me.”</p><p>Eret puts on his armor immediately. Everyone else more or less does the same.</p><p>Dream passes out piles of ender pearls and potions, and everyone prepares their shields and weapons, and then they set out in the dark of night to the still-burning country.</p><p>It’s not much of a fight. They storm their way in and straight into the White House. Quackity and George see them coming and retreat into the building. By the time they get there, Schlatt is waiting for them on the hill.</p><p>“Boys,” Schlatt calls. He’s wearing full netherite and a utility belt filled to the brim with a dozen glimmering potions. George is also in netherite, but Fundy, Tubbo, and Quackity are just in diamond. “Such a late visit! Though we’re not open for business right now. Wanna come back during business hours and hash this out like adults?”</p><p>“You have two options,” Dream says. “Either you pack up and leave tonight to start over somewhere far, far away, or you’re out.”</p><p>“Kicking me out of my country?” Schlatt says in mock-surprise. “But I’m the democr—”</p><p>“Let me say this clearly. Surrender or you’re banned.”</p><p>Everyone tenses up around him, but Dream doesn’t fucking care.</p><p>“I’m not just gonna take that lying down. You have to kill me first,” Schlatt says, stepping backwards until he’s standing in line with his government. “Come and get me, pissbaby.”</p><p>Dream marches forward, Eret and Sap hot on his heels, but the only one to move on the other side is Quackity. The rest just stand still. Even Quackity freezes when his own side hesitates.</p><p>“You should surrender,” Fundy says.</p><p>“The <b>fuck</b> did you just say to me?” Schlatt says.</p><p>Fundy stares at him.</p><p>“Fucking <b>fight!</b> I’m your <em> president!” </em> Schlatt yells loudly. He points at George. “You’re really gonna sit there and be Dream’s fuckin’ lapdog?”</p><p>“We’re outmatched,” George says simply. Though Dream had hoped that George would see reason and know when to quit, it lifts a weight off his chest to see that he was right. He really hadn’t wanted to fight his friend, and now he doesn’t have to.</p><p>“Hah. Fuckin’ useless, all of you,” Schlatt says.</p><p>Eret reels back an arm and chucks something -- a second later, he’s standing behind Schlatt, cutting off the door to the White House.</p><p>“Last chance,” Dream says.</p><p>“This place stinks anyway,” Schlatt snarls.</p><p>Eret reaches forward and tugs the helmet off Schlatt’s head.</p><p>Half a second later, Dream’s axe cleaves through Schlatt’s neck.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> jschlatt was slain by Dream<br/></em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>As Schlatt’s decapitated head thunks to the ground, Dream lifts his right hand. He slashes it across the air, and then with his hand he makes the sign language shapes for B-A-N  J-S-C-L-A-T-T.</p><p>In the chat, another message appears.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> [Server: Banned jschlatt: Banned by an operator]<br/></em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>Instead of fading away like bodies do when someone respawns, Schlatt’s body glows white and evaporates. He’ll spawn in a few days in whatever world he was in just before joining the Dream SMP.</p><p>“Anyone else?” Dream asks, staring down Quackity and Fundy.</p><p>“The country’s yours,” Quackity concedes quickly.</p><p>Fundy nods. “All yours.”</p><p>“No,” Dream says. “I don’t want it.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Tubbo whispers. <em> “Thank you. </em> Thank you, oh my god.”</p><p>“Don’t mention it,” Dream says weakly, unsure of what to do.</p><p>Tubbo looks up at him with wide eyes. “Dream. I’ve been against Schlatt from the start. I’ve been with Pogtopia, I’ve been having talks with Tommy. Wilbur can’t—”</p><p>“I’m not going to give it to Wilbur,” Dream says.</p><p>Tubbo visibly relaxes.</p><p><em> “What?” </em> Fundy asks, sounding somewhat outraged.</p><p>Dream lifts his axe and points it at Fundy. “Sorry, did I ask for your opinion?”</p><p>The night goes silent.</p><p>“I can take you to them,” Tubbo says, calling Dream’s attention back. “They’ll want to know. I have tunnels. We can go right to them.”</p><p>“Traitorous bastard,” Quackity whispers. Dream can excuse that, though. Betrayal sucks, and the shock from it is fine so long as it’s not followed by rash actions.</p><p>“Then take me. This all ends tonight,” Dream says. He turns to his entourage. “Thanks, guys. You can all go, now. We’ll get the legalities of everything in writing tomorrow, but I trust that nobody’s dumb enough to go making power grabs.”</p><p>Schlatt’s men nod nervously. Dream’s men nod amicably.</p><p>“Let’s go,” Dream says to Tubbo.</p><p>Instead of moving, though, Tubbo pauses. He quickly strips himself of his armor and drops it, heedless of the way it rolls down the hill. Underneath, he’s left wearing his button-up and jeans. Then, armorless in the true L’Manbergian fashion, he stands tall and nods to Dream. “Let’s.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The ravine is nice. It’s cobble instead of dirt, and it’s got stairs carved into the stones, and the acoustics are honed enough that all three Pogtopians wait for Tubbo and Dream at the end of the tunnel.</p><p>“Dream,” Wilbur hisses.</p><p>“Tubbo?” Tommy asks, perking up.</p><p>“We bring news,” Tubbo says.</p><p>“Schlatt’s banned,” Dream says simply. “Check your chat.”</p><p>There’s a slight pause where the Pogtopians reel at the information. They must have been sleeping at the time, or otherwise preoccupied, because it looks like none of them saw the server message confirming it.</p><p>Techno is the first to recover. “On what grounds?”</p><p>“What grounds do I need?” Dream asks. “He broke enough rules.”</p><p>“Like what? Why would you <em> do that?” </em> Wilbur asks suspiciously.</p><p>Dream decides to humor him. “Invasion of SMP land. He kinda screwed himself over in that regard. Either he was legally L’Manberg and should have followed the treaty I made you sign, or he was a new entity, and he was an unrecognized faction claiming land.”</p><p>“So now you’re coming for us? To wipe out the last of your enemies in one clean sweep?” Wilbur exclaims.</p><p>“Wilbur,” Tommy says quietly. “We sh—”</p><p>“Shut up,” Wilbur says sharply.</p><p>For a long moment, the five of them stare each other down.</p><p>“We can discuss your options,” Dream says. “One is that L’Manberg is rebuilt and the treaty is reinstated.”</p><p>“Or?” Wilbur inquires, seeking the catch.</p><p>Dream shakes his head. “Or plenty of other reasonable options. You could stay here. You could make a home for yourself a million blocks away. You could come back to the SMP and get on with your life.”</p><p>“You know what I mean. What’s the fucking catch, Dream?” Wilbur shouts.</p><p>He debates how forward he should be about this. There’s a chance Techno will side with Wilbur, and Dream’s still not sure about his chances in that fight.</p><p>But then again, he can’t avoid why he came here.</p><p>“For the time being, you can’t be president,” Dream says. “You’re unfit to lead, and I don’t trust that you would honor any treaties. You’ve said yourself that you would be ambitious if you had power, so I’m taking your word and preventing you from having the opportunity.”</p><p>Wilbur’s eyes ignite with absolute fury. “Why you— I fucking <em> made </em> L’Manberg! I raised it from the ashes! I built it from nothing, <em> just to spite you, </em> and I won!”</p><p>“Tommy won,” Dream says flatly.</p><p><b>“I</b> WON!” Wilbur shouts.</p><p>It echoes and echoes down the tunnel and down the ravine, and both of Wilbur’s brothers turn to watch him with wide, careful eyes.</p><p>“You’re— you’re fucking with me. You’re just— you’re <em> trying </em> to—” Wilbur lifts his sword and takes a few steps backward. “You’re <b>not</b> getting in my <em> fucking </em> head! What <em> proof </em> do you even have that Schlatt’s gone? You could’ve faked that message! What if you’re just trying to lure us out, <em> or to lead him here? </em> See, Tommy? I fucking told you Tubbo would lead the enemy straight to us! We have to—”</p><p>“Woah, Wil,” Techno cuts in. He reaches out for Wilbur’s shoulder. “Take it down a—”</p><p>“Don’t <em> fucking </em> touch me!” Wilbur shouts, swinging his sword at his brother.</p><p>Techno catches him by the wrist before it can connect.</p><p>“Let go of me!” Wilbur screams, even as Techno grabs his other wrist.</p><p>“Wilbur, calm down. It’s me,” Techno says low and steady.</p><p>“Let <b>go!”</b> Wilbur screeches. “T- Tommy, help me! TOMMY!”</p><p>“Wilbur, we’re your brothers,” Tommy says. “We wouldn’t ever <em> actually </em> hurt you. Calm down.”</p><p>“This is a <em> fucking </em> set up! Dream’s <b>never</b> gonna let us— who knows what he’s planning? What he’s <em> done? </em> He’s the fucking admin! He could just turn on <em> permadeath </em> and kill us all!” Wilbur screams. He writhes in Techno’s grip, trying to pull himself away, raising a leg and kicking at Techno’s stomach futilely. “Let me go! Let me go <em> let me go </em> let me— let me go, Techno!”</p><p>“Wil,” Techno pleads. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”</p><p><b>“Let me GO!</b>” Wilbur howls.</p><p>Techno looks over and meets Tommy’s eyes for a long moment. And then, Techno lets go of one of Wilbur’s wrists, tugs the other to unbalance him, and slides behind Wilbur to grab him in a headlock. “I’m sorry, ‘m sorry. Just sleep, bro. You’re safe.”</p><p>“Traitor! TRAITOR! He’s gonna kill— he’s gonna <em> kill </em> us— To— Tommy run,” Wilbur gasps, scrabbling at Techno’s arms and thrashing and resisting. “Tommy— Tom— ru…” Eventually, his movements get slower and slower until he slumps back against Techno, who catches him and lets him down to the floor.</p><p>“Holy shit,” Tommy whispers.</p><p>“That’s my line,” Techno says, blinking in surprise as he crouches over Wilbur’s unconscious form. “What the fuck got into him? I know he’s been on edge but…”</p><p>“He thought you were going to betray us. He thought you were just looking for bloodshed,” Tommy says.</p><p>Techno pales as he looks up at his youngest brother. “He thought I was gonna…?”</p><p>“I know,” Tommy says. “You would never.”</p><p>Techno swallows hard.</p><p>Dream steps forward. “I didn’t think it would actually be this bad,” he says, startling Tommy. “But I can’t really turn a blind eye now that I’ve seen how bad it’s gotten.”</p><p>Tommy’s face falls. “Dream…”</p><p>“You know that I can’t let him walk around like this,” Dream says. “He killed your allies, bombed their beds, razed your lands. He doesn’t trust anyone at all. There’s nothing to stop him from waking up every day, going out, and trying to cause harm to everyone he comes across. That’s not <em> safe.” </em></p><p>“I know,” Tommy says, surprisingly accepting of it.</p><p>“Do you wanna ban him?” Techno asks Dream.</p><p>The question hits Dream hard, possibly because he was considering it. The idea is appealing. It would prevent Wilbur from sneaking back in and hurting people. It would solve the problem. But it wouldn’t sit well with many people. Wilbur is - was - a good man who many cared about. Even as he burns bridges, it’ll be hard for people to forget the man he was.</p><p>“I don’t know,” Dream admits. “I was thinking of making a prison.”</p><p>“Prison?” Tubbo speaks up.</p><p>Dream drags a hand across his face. “Yeah, I don’t know. We could set it up to be automated, so he could have food and water from hoppers? And people could visit him whenever they wanted, so it won’t be solitary confinement. And the conditions could be nice, and we could-- we could make it humane. As long as everyone agrees that he needs to be there for his own good, security wouldn’t be an issue.”</p><p>“No,” Techno says.</p><p>Dream waits for a reason.</p><p>Techno doesn’t give one.</p><p>“Techno,” Dream tries. “You saw—”</p><p><em> “I saw,” </em> Techno snaps, raising a hand to stop Dream. “It just— It don’t sit right with me.”</p><p>“I’m open to suggestions,” Dream says.</p><p>Techno and Tommy look at each other again, unhappy.</p><p>“He can’t stay like this,” Tommy says. “I love ‘im, but he’s a danger to all of you.”</p><p>“And a danger to you as well,” Techno says. “He may trust you now, but how long’s that gonna last? <em> Especially </em> when you stop defending him. Tom, he’s fuckin’ nuts.”</p><p>“I know! I know, he just… he’s…“</p><p>“Yeah,” Techno agrees.“He doesn’t care about anything more than freedom,” Tommy says. “We can’t let him get locked up.”</p><p>“So what? You wanna babysit him?” Techno asks angrily. “I had to knock him out because he was trying to kill me. How well do you think he’ll cooperate after that?”</p><p>“He <em> can’t </em> rot in a cell,” Tommy says. “That’s not an option!”</p><p>“I could ban him,” Dream suggests.</p><p><em> “No,” </em> Tommy says instantly. “No, we can’t leave him alone. That’s what he’s <em> scared </em> of. We can’t— I won’t abandon him.”</p><p>“If he can’t stay in the server, then you’ll have to leave him,” Techno says. “Unless you’re gonna give up your life here to babysit our brother.”</p><p>“We can’t abandon him, Techno. He’s already so fuckin’ scared that he’s going to lose everyone. We can’t.”</p><p>“I’m not—” Techno shakes his head and laughs, and it sounds shaky, to Dream’s surprise. Dream’s never heard Techno get actually distraught. He’s heard it faked for jokes, but never for real. It seems impossible, somehow, like the great Technoblade ought to be infallible. “I’m not equipped to deal with someone that mentally unstable. I could subdue him, but I can’t do that every time he wakes up. And you can’t even do that much.”</p><p>Tommy nods and runs a hand through his hair.</p><p>“So what do we do?” Techno asks.</p><p>“Can we… “ Tommy swallows. “Can we just take him <em> home? </em> Can we ask Phil what to do?”</p><p>“Philza?” Dream asks.</p><p>Both of them look over at him.</p><p>“That would work,” Dream says slowly. “If you can get Phil to agree to watch him… I’m okay with that.”</p><p>“When you say ‘watch him’…” Techno says.</p><p>“I mean <em> watch. </em> Not imprison. As long as Phil can keep him from running back here and starting trouble, I’d give that plan the green light,” Dream nods.</p><p>The brothers look back at each other again.</p><p>“Dad could,” Tommy says.</p><p>“Dad’s got shit to do,” Techno says.“Nothing more important than his son’s fucking psychotic breakdown,” Tommy says.</p><p>Techno’s face shuts quickly.</p><p>“We’ll take him there,” Tommy says to Dream. “We’ll track down our dad and get him to watch over Wilbur for a while. That way he’s not rotting in a cell, and he’s not banned, and he’s not alone.”</p><p>“That’s a great plan,” Dream says sincerely.</p><p>“We should go now,” Techno says. “Before he wakes up.”</p><p>They all look down at Wilbur, who lays on the ground in heap.</p><p>“After this,” Dream begins, “I want to draft up a new treaty with you, Tommy. You get L’Manberg back, as long as you don’t expand as a country.”</p><p>“Done,” Tommy nods.</p><p>“I want you to be the president,” he says.</p><p>That part gives Tommy a bit of a pause.</p><p>“We’ll talk about it later,” Dream says quickly. “I just… I needed you to know, before you leave, that there’s something for you to come back to.”</p><p>“That’s okay,” Tommy says, staring at Wilbur. “He probably needs to be away from all of us for a while. It’ll keep me busy while he takes some time to recover.”</p><p>“Of course,” Dream says.</p><p>Techno walks over down the ravine and cracks open a couple of chests, coming back with a stretcher made of long branches and a large piece of leather. After he sets it down, he drags Wilbur on and positions him to be balanced. “Tommy, little help?”</p><p>Tommy walks over wordlessly and grabs the front of the stretcher.</p><p>“One, two—” Techno grunts and on three they lift up the stretcher and Wilbur with it and start moving forward.</p><p>Dream turns and starts walking back down the tunnel. It’s a long walk to get to L’Manberg and then back to the SMP, but that’s where spawn is, with the server portal to move between worlds, so that’s where they have to go.</p><p>He puts a hand on Tubbo’s shoulder. “I’ll walk ahead and clear out mobs,” Dream says, hoping that Tubbo understands he’s giving them room to talk. “I’ll be waiting at the portal.”</p><p>“Thanks, man,” Tubbo says.</p><p>Dream nods and dashes forward, leaving the ragtag group behind.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It’s early morning when Tommy and Techno arrive at spawn, holding Wilbur in the stretcher between them.</p><p>“Do you know where he is?” Dream asks.</p><p>“Not quite,” Tommy says.</p><p>“We’re going to try SMP Earth first,” Techno says. “From there, we’ll get everyone there to ping him, and then there’s no way he’ll be able to ignore it. He’ll open a portal and let us into whatever world he’s in, and then we’ll sort out the details.”</p><p>“Doesn’t Phil do hardcore worlds when he’s not on servers?” Dream asks.</p><p>“He’d start a new one that’s not hardcore,” Tommy says firmly. “He wouldn’t risk leaving Wilbur alone.”</p><p>“I trust that,” Dream agrees. “Phil’s a good guy.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Techno says.</p><p>They stand still for a long moment.</p><p>“You’re both welcome back any time,” Dream says quietly. “Techno, you probably have places to be—“</p><p>“I do,” Techno cuts in, trying to be funny.</p><p>Dream huffs out a slight laugh. “... but you can always hang out here. And Tommy. Tubbo will be waiting for you here.”</p><p>Tommy nods. “I’ll be coming back. No question.”</p><p>“As for him…“ Dream says, looking down at Wilbur. “I’d need to hear Phil’s opinion. But if Phil approves it, I’d let him come back however Phil thinks is safe.”</p><p>“I can’t say enough how grateful I am,” Tommy says.</p><p>“Then don’t. Just come back and rebuild L’Manberg and make it a place he’ll be proud of.”</p><p>After a long moment, Tommy nods.</p><p>Dream wordlessly steps back from the portal and watches them step through.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>TommyInnit left the game</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>WilburSoot left the game</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Technoblade left the game</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>He sighs and starts the trudge back to his own base.</p><p>Dream is not a complicated man, but complicated messes like these seem to gravitate towards him.</p><p>He hopes, though, that this one will work out in the end.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>SO YEAH! This won't happen, obviously, but the idea hit me at 2AM and I had to get it out of my head. Might continue this if I feel up to it! Depends on how much canon changes after this and how motivated I am to keep on writing, but I'll let you know! Thanks for reading &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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